Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday called for deeper collaboration between Pakistan and China in education, technology, and vocational training while addressing faculty and students at Tianjin University.
He stressed that Pakistan’s youth must be equipped with modern skills, particularly in artificial intelligence (AI), to drive future progress.
The prime minister said that Pakistan’s youth need training in AI and advanced technologies, adding that vocational training is the “need of the hour.” He urged Tianjin University to partner with Pakistan in strengthening training programs that can help transform challenges into opportunities.
“Our students are the real ambassadors of Pakistan in China,” Sharif remarked, encouraging them to actively promote Pak-China friendship that “has stood the test of time.”
Student exchanges, agriculture cooperation
Sharif highlighted that more than 30,000 Pakistani students are currently studying in Chinese universities, including over 200 at Tianjin University.
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He noted that his government had sent 1,000 agriculture graduates to China, with the goal of advancing Pakistan’s agricultural sector through modern education.
“These students will be the backbone of our agricultural transformation,” he said.
Commitment to shared goals
The prime minister reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to strengthening ties with China, calling for partnerships with Chinese companies and aligning on common development objectives. “Pakistan and China will achieve the goal of development together. No one can separate us,” Sharif said.
He praised China’s development model, saying the country rose to become the world’s largest economy not through speeches but through action. He added that Pakistan fully supports the vision of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Sharif concluded his speech by emphasizing that Pakistan is proud of its historic ties with China — from being the first Muslim country to recognize Beijing to supporting its rise as a global economic and military power. “We must learn from China’s model for development and apply it to our own path forward,” he said.
